A screen free afternoon · Compare
A screen free afternoon in Kannapolis: where it fits among family activities
Comparing like for like: what this gives you that the alternatives do not, and where the alternatives win.
Nobody has to ban anything. Children put the phone down on their own when the alternative is better.
The nearest of the two centres to Kannapolis is the one to aim at - Concord Mills in Concord - and the drive is the ordinary sort rather than an expedition.
What it does differently
The feedback loop is the same one games use - do a thing, see a result, adjust - except it happens with hands, in a room, with other people watching.
The quietest hour of the week is the first one on a weekday morning in term time. The busiest is Saturday around midday.
Where other options win
Screen free is easy to say on a Saturday morning and hard to do by two in the afternoon.
What replaces a screen has to be more interesting than a screen, which rules out most of the obvious answers. A machine a child actually controls is one of the few that works.
How to decide
Nobody has to ban anything. Children put the phone down on their own when the alternative is better.
If it is the first time, do not also make it a birthday. Learning a place and celebrating in it are two different visits.
The short version
The feedback loop is the same one games use - do a thing, see a result, adjust - except it happens with hands, in a room, with other people watching.
Screen free is easy to say on a Saturday morning and hard to do by two in the afternoon.
Questions parents ask
Is there screen time involved?
The machines are levers and cables. The ice is ice.
How do I get in touch?
By phone on +1 (424) 387-6232 or +1 (615) 968-4925, or by e-mail at info@newlife-entertainment.com.
What are the opening hours?
10:00 AM to 8:00 PM Monday to Saturday, and 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM on Sunday.
Planning your visit in Kannapolis
If Kannapolis is home, this is the sort of place you end up returning to rather than ticking off. That changes what a first visit is worth planning around.
Go early if the choice is available. The first hour after opening is quieter than any hour that follows it, and quieter is easier for everybody.
Take the photographs early. The best ones happen in the first fifteen minutes, before anybody is tired.
The drive back to Kannapolis is where you find out what they actually thought. Children review an outing about twenty minutes after leaving it, never during.
The practical details
- XCAV ZONE — 433 Opry Mills Drive, Nashville TN 37214: four child-operated machines over a ball pit.
- ICE PARK — 8111 Concord Mills Blvd, Concord NC 28027: a real rink with bumper cars on the ice.
- Opening hours — 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM Monday to Saturday, 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM on Sunday.
- Phone — +1 (424) 387-6232 · +1 (615) 968-4925
- E-mail — info@newlife-entertainment.com
Questions about a specific day, a group or a party are best asked directly - info@newlife-entertainment.com, or either of the numbers on the contacts page.